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15 minutes ago, codypet said:

I theorize that the extension south is going to be the shot in the arm that Sunrail needs.   There's no good way to get from Kissimmee to downtown much less to Longwood.  There's a ton of hospital staff (nurses, cleaning people, etc) that live in BVL and Kissimmee and Meadow Woods that could use the train to get to the hospitals.   Sunrail IS extending their late night hours to accommodate the longer route.  I think Sunrailriders said it was two extra trains at night.   Well there goes the argument that you can't take it to Magic games or have a drink and dinner and make it back home.  I think that's going to boost ridership.  I just wish they'd close those gaps in the middle of the day already.

I agree with you.  I think once this line goes from somewhere to somewhere, the ridership will follow.  Interestingly, a few little glimmers of *somewhere* are starting to appear along the way already.  Not enough, but some.  Kissimmee & almost Poinciana should be a big shot in the arm. 

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1 hour ago, codypet said:

I theorize that the extension south is going to be the shot in the arm that Sunrail needs.   There's no good way to get from Kissimmee to downtown much less to Longwood.  There's a ton of hospital staff (nurses, cleaning people, etc) that live in BVL and Kissimmee and Meadow Woods that could use the train to get to the hospitals.   Sunrail IS extending their late night hours to accommodate the longer route.  I think Sunrailriders said it was two extra trains at night.   Well there goes the argument that you can't take it to Magic games or have a drink and dinner and make it back home.  I think that's going to boost ridership.  I just wish they'd close those gaps in the middle of the day already.

Will they add any new midday trains? I think 2 hours between midday trains is waayy too long, 1 hour should be the max. The fear of being stranded is difficult to overcome, especially if you miss that last "morning" train. 

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Poinciana to Downtown will likely be about 35 minutes.   The southern track has far fewer street crossings.

Could you imagine how much things would make sense if SunRail phase I went from Poinciana to Maitland and I-4 Ultimate went from Disney to Downtown first.   I guess THAT is the benefit of having John Mica run the show if you lived in Seminole/Volusia

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The train hits 65 mph briefly just north of SLR.  I suspect south of  Meadow Woods, they can get to 79 like they do between Longwood and Lake Mary.  It would be awesome to be able to get back and for there so quick.  There is a developer planning apts behind the post office at SLR, but I don't know when he plans on breaking ground.   Yea, that midday gap is a killer.

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4 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Poinciana to Downtown will likely be about 35 minutes.   The southern track has far fewer street crossings.

Could you imagine how much things would make sense if SunRail phase I went from Poinciana to Maitland and I-4 Ultimate went from Disney to Downtown first.   I guess THAT is the benefit of having John Mica run the show if you lived in Seminole/Volusia

true about getting the Poinciana numbers into phase 1 ridership, but I think that is offset by the DeBary numbers; I've been told that DeBary station already expanded it's parking lot (unless this is a fallacy and their initial parking lot size was small to begin with).  The problem are a few of those other stations south of there...

I don't think they could do WDW to downtown first b/c of the superstructure of the central Orlando spine of I-4 from like 441 to past Lee Rd.  And the new bridges in downtown over Ivanhoe and the redoing of exit ramps for Princeton, Par, and Fairbanks is a tricky venture.  I hate it, but leaving the next phase for the "outskirts" is probably better.  That next phase will also need money to widen the St. Johns River Bridge...

Thank God they are moving forward with Kirkman Rd to 528 in 2019.  But then you have off ramp traffic dumping onto I-4 West at 528 and CFLA Pkwy, and then the 4th lane cuts off at 535. 

So, my question is when do they start the redo of 535 & I-4?  And, do the plans call for an 8-lane bridge over 535?

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42 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

true about getting the Poinciana numbers into phase 1 ridership, but I think that is offset by the DeBary numbers; I've been told that DeBary station already expanded it's parking lot (unless this is a fallacy and their initial parking lot size was small to begin with).  The problem are a few of those other stations south of there...

I don't think they could do WDW to downtown first b/c of the superstructure of the central Orlando spine of I-4 from like 441 to past Lee Rd.  And the new bridges in downtown over Ivanhoe and the redoing of exit ramps for Princeton, Par, and Fairbanks is a tricky venture.  I hate it, but leaving the next phase for the "outskirts" is probably better.  That next phase will also need money to widen the St. Johns River Bridge...

Thank God they are moving forward with Kirkman Rd to 528 in 2019.  But then you have off ramp traffic dumping onto I-4 West at 528 and CFLA Pkwy, and then the 4th lane cuts off at 535. 

So, my question is when do they start the redo of 535 & I-4?  And, do the plans call for an 8-lane bridge over 535?

I can confirm they have expanded their parking lot and that it began with a similar size to the other suburban stations

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On 5/14/2018 at 12:53 PM, Urban Mail Carrier said:

Well can't sunrail and Bright line collaborate in a design that would  be beneficial to both entities. Perhaps they can also share in the costs.

Brightline is already designed, and shovel ready.  It would provide no benefit to redesign their facility to run Sunrail through their yard unless Sunrail came with $$$$ to repermit and redesign their yard.  Since Brightline is a private company I'm sure they'll charge a pretty penny for that.  It would be cheaper for Sunrail to build their own spur.

10 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Longwood originally had surface parking - are you sure you didn’t see the garage for the apartments right there?

Longwood's surface parking is a block south and across the street from the station.  Its unlike the other stations where the parking lot is adjacent to the station.

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I understand the shovel ready portion of your point. If the project is ready to go why wait? But with that said I wonder what kind of arrangement Brightline made with Trirail. I wonder how much Trirail is paying to use Brightline spur or if they are sharing a cost. Who knows. 

Also seems to me that it would be in Brightline interest to have Sunrail stop at MCO. Those passengers can seamlessly transfer to Brightline on their way to Miami.

Also Orlando has a good history of collaboration between private and government entities.

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1 hour ago, Urban Mail Carrier said:

I understand the shovel ready portion of your point. If the project is ready to go why wait? But with that said I wonder what kind of arrangement Brightline made with Trirail. I wonder how much Trirail is paying to use Brightline spur or if they are sharing a cost. Who knows. 

Also seems to me that it would be in Brightline interest to have Sunrail stop at MCO. Those passengers can seamlessly transfer to Brightline on their way to Miami.

Also Orlando has a good history of collaboration between private and government entities.

I'm just going based off of this.   They for pushed Tri-rail to give $69 million adjust existing tracks and update the station design.  I'm sure they can come to an agreement but its up to Sunrail to see if this is better than building their own spur off the OUC line.  There's the cost to use the OUC line on top of all that.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-tri-rail-downtown-miami-20150202-story.html

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That's a good article! Seems like Sunrail is in the same position as Trirail.  With the exception that Sunrail already has a station waiting at MCO. The only problem is updating THE OUC spur and additional track. Like @gibby said you would think since the mayor sits on both boards something can be worked out. The symbiotic relationship is too obvious.

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JRS may have been right about the Longwood SunRail parking - Google Maps calls the garage "Westin House/SunRail parking garage"

Longwood is doing good stuff - kudos to them if they planned that all out to eventually rid themselves of the surface lots.

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20 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Longwood originally had surface parking - are you sure you didn’t see the garage for the apartments right there?

Yes.  on Google, it lists the garage as being for both the station and the apartments.

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4 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Sustainable? lol.  Could you imagine if we only built roads that “broke even?”

No one likes a boondoggle but transit, like roads, are an investment.   

We are a major metro area and should be able to put commuter rail to good use if it’s done right.   It won’t make a dollar, and it doesn’t need to, but it should add value in terms of throughput.

Sustainable doesn’t mean it is not an investment. Eventually the state will stop funding operations and that bill (that they are already complaining about) will fall on the counties. It’s vital to get the frequency of trains to the point of making sense for more than just commuters. We could use a few of the ~70 million tourist’s to help make the finances possible to increase frequency and also reduce demand on our highways.  The airport is essential to the system  and so is eventually connecting to the attractions. 

 

Toll roads are built to break even as a system over many years and allow for continual reinvestment. The same should be the goal for our train system even if we never get to the break even point.

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On 5/15/2018 at 12:04 PM, codypet said:

The train hits 65 mph briefly just north of SLR.  I suspect south of  Meadow Woods, they can get to 79 like they do between Longwood and Lake Mary.  It would be awesome to be able to get back and for there so quick.  There is a developer planning apts behind the post office at SLR, but I don't know when he plans on breaking ground.   Yea, that midday gap is a killer.

They are looking to increase to 40 trains a day.  If that happens you’ll have trains leaving Debary every 30 min from 5-8...again at 9, 10, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30...then back to 30 min frequency from 3-5:30 and finally 2 more later trains.   

While round trip trains, you’ll still have a train start in Poinciana so the first trip north would be as early as 5:45am.

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In related transportation news.. From OBJ

 

Orlando already is a hot spot for high-tech industries, like defense contracting and smart sensor development.

Now, Orlando appears to be becoming a market where futuristic transit systems can take shape — like the Virgin Hyperloop One vacuum tube train, and others.

 
That’s according to Harry Barley, executive director of MetroPlan Orlando, the region’s metropolitan planning organization.

In fact, Barley said MetroPlan already met with the Richard Branson-backed Virgin Hyperloop One team, which is fashioning a 257-mile high-speed train route that would travel from Orlando International Airport to the Miami Intermodal Center in just 26 minutes. And that’s not all.

“We are meeting with another hyperloop company several weeks from now,” Barley told Orlando Business Journal. “This is a market that’s evolving. It’s very exciting technology and it’s an opportunity that can be explored.”

 

Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One — a concept first envisioned by billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX —would house both freight and people in “pods” within a fully autonomous, enclosed structure. This type of high-tech system would offer a transit alternative for businesspeople and the workforce between two major metro areas.

MetroPlan hasn’t yet issued any requests for proposals from firms that would want to build such a system. But it has talked with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., which wants to build a similar tube-train system from Orlando to Tampa, Barley said.

The infrastructure already may be in place for such a route, he said.

“There’s right of way reserved along Interstate 4 that can be used for premium transit,” Barley said, adding that Hyperloop Transportation Technologies would need additional right of way for the two stops it plans between Orlando and Tampa.

That connector, together with Virgin Hyperloop One’s plans to link Orlando and Miami, would bolster Orlando’s $70 billion tourism industry, which is the region’s dominant economic engine that welcomed a historic 72 million visitors in 2017.

The proposed Orlando-to-Miami route — one of 10 U.S. routes targeted by the Virgin Hyperloop One team — would use U.S. Highway 27 to avoid more densely-populated areas, Director of Public Policy Dan Katz said.

“One of the things that impressed us was the corridor,” Katz told OBJ. “We need to engage with Central Florida. When you are trying to do a corridor like this, it’s only possible when all the players are involved.

“Those are some of the missing pieces.”

 

Another big question is how the system would be funded. Virgin Hyperloop One seeks to form a public/private partnership to fund the project.

“We would need to know more of what type of public/private investment would be made,” Barley told OBJ. “We would imagine proposals from any company would involve a public/private partnership.

“The challenge is how these types of partnerships would be funded and who would have the assumption of risks. But the revenue sources Hyperloop One [referenced] are reasonable. It’s a matter of how it all comes together.”

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